


A Wolfman, an Imp, and an Amnesiac Walk into an Apocalypse

by siren_world



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Best Friends, BotW Link Needs a Hug, BotW Link accidently brings TP Link and Midna to 100 years post-Calamity Ganon attack, Bromance, Canonical Character Death, Champions Bromance, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Getting to Know Each Other, Identity Issues, Link & Link & Midna Save Hyrule Together!, Link (Legend of Zelda) Needs a Hug, Link is Confused, Lots of bromance, Mentioned Past BotW Link/Mipha, Midna is Not Amused, Midna nicknames BotW Link, No Beta We Die Like Champions, Not A Fix-It, Sharing a Bed, TP Link/Midna, Telepathic Bond, Time Travel, Zelda is a badass, do not copy to another site, twilight is a pyro, wild is a cinnamon roll
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:55:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25927750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siren_world/pseuds/siren_world
Summary: Link and Midna are using the Mirror of Twilight to travel back to Hyrule from the Twilight Realm to storm Hyrule Castle after deteating Zant, when they find their course derailed unexpectedly.In another time far in the future, Link is messing around with the Runes on the Sheikah Slate when he accidentally opens a strange portal and summons a stranger who looks almost exactly like him. And the stranger's strange mouthy shadow.(Or, TP Link and Midna inexplicably travel to the time of BotW Link and help he recover his lost memories and save the world. Because I've always been disappointed that only Wolf Link can join BotW Link on his journey, despite the fact that Midna is ON the Amiibo.)!! [Edit: 3/1/21 -- This story is sort of on hiatus until I get my shiz together. I want to get back on a consistent update schedule for this as well. I'm going to try to get another chapter out before the end of the month.] !!
Relationships: Link & Champions (Legend of Zelda), Link & Midna & Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Link & Midna (Legend of Zelda), Link & Prince Sidon, Link & Purah (Legend of Zelda), Link & Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Link/Midna (Legend of Zelda), Midna & Zelda (Legend of Zelda), TP!Zelda & BotW!Zelda, Twilight & Wild (Linked Universe), Twilight/Midna, Wild/Zelda
Comments: 53
Kudos: 314





	1. In Which Link Screws Around With the Sheikah Slate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been on my mind for years. It feels really good to finally write it!
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy
> 
> EDIT: Revised/Edited Sept 5, 2020

As Link walked down the ramp from the central building of the Palace of Twilight, Midna finally popped up from his shadow. She had been strangely quiet throughout his entire descent from the throne room. He had a feeling that the confrontation with Zant and its aftermath had really rattled her.

"So Ganondorf was just using Zant to return to the world of light...” the little imp began, “I guess now we know the true nature of the barrier over Hyrule Castle. He's in the castle, I'm sure of it!” Her one visible eye widened slightly. “Princess Zelda is in grave danger! We have to hurry, Link!

He nodded in agreement, but before she could return to his shadow, he reached out a hand to gently touch her arm. He looked her in the eye.

“Midna,” Link started, “Are you sure you’re all right? I know that you and Zant used to be sort of friends or whatever, and what you did with the Fused Shadows…” He trailed off.

Midna looked down with a half-lidded eye and worrying her lip with one of her fangs. “I’m fine Link,” she said quietly, “Or at least I will be. I just need some time.”

Link gave her arm a light squeeze. “Okay,” he said, “If you’re sure.” He let his hand drop down from her arm. “But whenever you want to talk, I’m here.” He gave her a small smile.

Her lips curled up into a small smile in response. “Thanks Link.” Then she dove back into his shadow.

Link started walking up the incline past the central plaza where the portal that connected the Twilight Realm to the Gerudo Desert was. He stepped on the glowing circle that bore the same symbols of the Mirror of Twilight and relaxed. He felt the magic of the portal envelope him, and his vision disappeared as his body broke down into twilight.

Even though Link was used to it now, the sensation of the million tiny pieces of his body racing towards another destination at an extreme speed still unnerved him a little. He found that if he tried not to think about it, the process didn’t feel as uncomfortable.

Suddenly though, the smooth constant speed was interrupted somehow. The warping process felt as if it were… stuttering? With his body broken down as it was, he couldn’t place the feeling. Was something wrong?

Almost as soon as he’d had that thought, he heard Midna’s voice in his head.

 _Link!_ she called to him, sounding caught off guard. _Something’s off with the Mirror’s warp stream! We seem to be being redirected somewhere else. I think that something is pulling us to another destination or… something!_

Even though his heart was in thousands of tiny pieces right now, Link still felt it shudder in mild fear after he heard Midna’s statement. _Being taken somewhere else?_ he questioned her nervously, _Where?_

 _I don’t know!_ Midna told him, more frantic now, _It feels like we’re still in Hyrule somewhere; just not where we’re supposed to be!_

Link suddenly felt another sensation. That Blue Feeling. It was the unforgettable, disorienting and somewhat sickening feeling he had felt whenever he’d had to step through the Time Door in order to traverse the past and present to get the third Mirror shard where everything around him was white and blue lights. Only a million times more disorienting because he was in a million pieces.

 _Midna!_ Link called to her, _I think that something’s very wrong!_

He had hardly finished that thought before he felt himself begin to reform.

* * *

Link was playing with the Sheikah Slate.

Well, if anyone would have asked, he would have said that he was “experimenting” and “attempting to uncover more of its secrets.” He would have never admitted to _playing_ with such an ancient, priceless artifact that only seemed to properly respond to him. But yes, he was playing with the Sheikah Slate.

 _This thing is amazing!_ he thought, not for the first time, _It can do so many different things!_ Including the four Runes he’d gotten from those shrines – Magnesis, Remote Bomb, Stasis, and Cryonis – he’d gotten a Camera Rune from Purah’s lab in Hateno. That one was his favorite (and from what he was told, Princess Zelda’s as well), and he liked taking pictures of himself in different poses in front of all of the differing landscapes in Hyrule Kingdom. And they always looked so crisp and true to life too!

He was scrolling between the different “pages” when he saw it. _That Rune!_

He had discovered That Rune soon after his awakening, but had been too disoriented and confused at first to check it out. Then that crazy old man – King of Hyrule, whoops – had offered that deal to him, and he had gotten completely caught up in entering and completing all of the shrines on the Great Plateau – he _really_ wanted that paraglider! And then, the King had told him everything after the shrines, and he’d gotten caught up with traveling to Kakariko Village and then Hateno Village _and then_ some exploring.

But there it was! Now that he was taking a little time for himself to relax on the way to Zora’s Domain from Hateno – and now that he was done playing with the Camera Rune – he could see what That Rune did.

That Rune was a mysterious one. He had trouble reading the name of It, which was weird since he could very easily read that of the others. Or maybe pronounce was more of the right term. Those symbols just didn’t look right together – they didn’t spell anything that made sense!

But that just made him even _more_ curious about it.

Link tapped on That Rune.

The Skeikah Slate’s screen shimmered a myriad of different shades of blue and thousands of symbols – what did those say, he’d never seen such writing before?! – flashed across it over the shimmering blues.

Suddenly, the symbols left the screen and _floated up into the open air_. They kept going up, high up into the sky, where they began to swirl into a vortex. Then, strange black squares began to flicker into existence into a larger shape – was it a bigger square? – and the light from the blue vortex began to coalesce into weird lines and swirls. The spirals in the middle of the weird shape reminded him of the circles in front of the shrines that the Slate allowed him to travel to near instantaneously. Was it some kind of teleportation device or destination? But why was it in the sky?

The weird-vortex-portal- _thing_ flashed or something, and then suddenly little black squares seemed to rain down from the sky. And they began to form Something!

Something with legs and a torso – was that a green tunic? – and arms and a neck and—

Link’s eyes grew wide as what looked like a person began to materialize right in front of him.

A person that looked a lot like the image he saw when he took pictures of himself with the Sheikah Slate.

A person that looked a lot like him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. More to come soon! :)


	2. In Which Misunderstandings are Had

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Another chapter already! Don't expect this to be a common thing, but I was feeling super inspired after seeing the response to this story. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and to all of you that gave your time and attention to this story! I really appreciate it.
> 
> Chapter Note: So no one is confused, Telma is a Gerudo in this story's canon. I've always thought that she might have had some Gerudo blood in her, but after Wild came out and the Gerudo looked almost exactly like her - tall with red hair, green eyes, pointed ears, and sun-kissed skin - I had to include my headcannon. Sorry.
> 
> EDIT: Revised/Edited Sept 5, 2020

As Link usually did after warping, he blinked several times as his vision adjusted. Only, the disorientation must have been worse this ¬time, because he was still seeing another him – but wearing a dark blue tunic and no hat – standing a few feet in front of him, and there were no reflective surfaces where the copy was standing.

“Um, hi,” said the doppelganger awkwardly.

The figure _talked_.

 _But that doesn’t prove anything,_ Link thought.

So, he walked up and poked him. _Hard_.

His eyes widened.

“Uh, ow,” said the copy wearing a confused expression, “Why’d you do that?”

“You’re real,” Link breathed, amazed.

“Uh, yeah,” said the copy, “My name’s Link by the way, in case you were wondering. Hey, quick question: Is poking something people normally do when they greet each other? ‘Cause I’ve been out of it for… a while, and I’m having trouble remembering some stuff.” The doppelganger paused as if in thought and then gave a twitch as if realizing something. “Oh, wait you came from the Sheikah Slate! Did you actually come from the Slate or did I summon you or something?”

Hearing that brought him out of his shocked daze, and the real Link was immediately on the offensive. He remembered how, very soon after they met, Midna had briefly taken the forms of Colin and Ilia. Perhaps Ganondorf could do that as well, or maybe this was one of his minions.

Link drew the Master Sword.

“What are you doing?” the other “Link” asked, curious. Then his eyes widened as he seemed to come to a realization. “Wait, are you a test or something? Then you _must_ be from the Slate!” He drew his weapon as well, a long, thin sword that looked like a large, slender knife. The blade was on the same side too; it looked made for cutting.

Link tore his eyes away from his quick assessment of the strange blade to focus on the imposter himself. “Test? What’s that supposed to mean?” he demanded, “Never mind, it doesn’t matter. Whatever you say is just a ruse to get me to let my guard down. You’re obviously one of Ganondorf’s minions in disguise! You must’ve brought me here to kill me!”

“Ganondorf?” the imposter said sounding out the word. “Wait, are you talking about Calamity Ganon? You _are_ a test!” With those words, Link’s almost twin leapt at him.

Link quickly raised up the Hylian shield in a block, and then quickly rolled out of the way as the other “Link” attempted to strike at his side. He then came up from behind the imposter and tried to get in a back slice, but the attack bounced off the others sword.

Link did a backflip – and the doppelganger did as well – and he waited for the copy to come at him. After a few seconds, the other did, charging with a horizontal slice. But Link pushed him back with his shield. The other seemed prepared for this though and reacted at such a speed that Link could barely keep up with him. He barely managed to block the other’s – very pinpoint and _very_ lethal – strikes from hitting him.

After a few seconds, the other jumped back again, panting, and then did something unexpected. He touched a strange glowing tablet at his belt and the sword seemed to disintegrate – it looked similar to how Midna stored things in her Void – and then another weapon appeared out of nowhere in the same fashion.

This weapon was some sort of rod that seemed similar to a torch; it looked a little different though, and the fire didn’t seem to be actually burning the wooden part of. Was it magic? He’d never seen anything like it.

The other raised the rod, but instead of charging at Link this time, he stood at a distance and swung the rod. A large ball of fire headed his way. Surprised – and still captivated by the strange weapon – Link barely knocked back the attack with his shield in time.

The other, grinning – he seemed to think that he had a leg up on Link for some reason – tried a similar attack to the first with the rod, but this time Link was ready. He thrust his shield out and pushed the attack back in the other’s face. The other looked surprised for a moment but managed to duck out of the way in time.

While the other was getting his bearings, Link thrust forward with his shield again and slammed it into the stomach of the other. Apparently, this strange rod was more of a long distance weapon and left the user almost defenseless if an attacker got too close because the other “Link” took the hit and stumbled back. His almost twin gave an _oomph_ and a groan and fell back onto his behind.

Link held his sword at the copy’s throat.

The other looked up at him and held his hands up in surrender. He was grinning slightly.

“Wow,” he said, sounding impressed, “I’ve never seen anything attack with a shield before like that! Is that a new skill I’m supposed to be learning? But you didn’t explain it like that monk at the Kakariko shrine did for any of the attacks that he taught me. Is this different because you came out of the Slate? Is that why this is outside and I didn’t have to enter a shrine or something?”

Link lowered his blade at the other’s strange babble. He frowned in thought. _Kakariko?_ The other knew Kakariko Village? And he knew a monk – a spiritual person who served the gods – from there? _Could he mean Renado?_ he questioned himself. But no, Renado was no warrior, not as far as Link knew, his talents were in healing.

Could the doppelganger in blue be talking about the other Kakariko then? The old one, hidden away in the mountains near the Bridge of Eldin? But Link had thought that all of the villagers there had been massacred by the bulblins; and Impaz was _definitely_ not a warrior. Maybe someone else had managed to escape somehow? But the other had said he met this individual in Kakariko. Maybe there was a _third_ Kakariko Village?

This was getting too confusing.

“Who are you?” Link demanded, again holding his sword to the other’s neck.

The other rolled his eyes. “I told you already. I’m Link! And shouldn’t you know that already since you came from the Sheikah Slate, and the Sheikah Slate was meant for my use?” He looked confused.

“Your name is Link? But I’m Link! You must be some kind of copy meant to confuse me or something.” Now _he_ was beginning to get confused.

The other Link’s eyes widened and his mouth opened in a little _oh_. “Wait so are you saying you’re not a trial or test or whatever? And your name’s Link too?! That’s awesome! I’ve never met someone else with my name before!” He seemed to come to a realization. “Wait! That must mean that I did summon you or whatever with the Sheikah Slate! So where _are_ you from?”

Link lowered the Master Sword’s point to the ground. Clearly, he was wrong about this other Link.

“I’m from Ordon Village. It’s on the outskirts of the kingdom of Hyrule, just to the south of the Faron Province,” he informed his almost double.

“Cool,” the other said, “I’ve never been out of Hyrule – at least that I remember – and I don’t remember where I’m from, so it’s nice to meet someone that has a solid foundation.”

Something seemed off about both the other’s statement and his tone. “What do you mean you don’t _remember_ where you’re from?” Link asked him.

The Link in blue looked uncomfortable. “Well, um… I was in an accident a while ago and lost all of my memories. And now the world is in ruins and it’s partially my fault, and Calamity Ganon could break free from Princess Zelda’s seal at any moment and—”

“Wait, back up,” Link said. _What?_ “What do you mean the princess’s seal? You’re talking about this situation like Ganondorf has been influencing Hyrule for at least a few years or something! Hasn’t it only been like nine months or something since he entered Hyrule Castle. And what do you mean by seal? Princess Zelda disappeared months ago!”

Now the other Link was starting to look as confused as Link was starting to feel. “But Calamity Ganon appeared suddenly one hundred years ago, and the princess has been keeping him imprisoned in the castle with her powers ever since. And since when is Ganon a he? The old man and the monks made it seem like it was just a big monster.”

But Link was hardly listening. _One hundred years._ How in Hyrule was that possible? But then he remembered one of the oddities of the warp trip. _The Blue Feeling._ Was it possible that they had not only traveled in space but in _time_ as well?

“Tell me everything you know,” Link told him.

“Okay,” the other Link said, “But only if you tell me everything you know.”

* * *

What the Link in blue knew ended up being very shocking.

Apparently, he and Midna were not just one hundred years in the future; they were _over ten thousand years in the future_.

“…and so now I have to free these things called Divine Beasts and then free the princess and recover my memories, and it’s all so confusing. No pressure or anything,” the other said, “Aaaand… that’s about it. So how about you; what’s your story?”

Link didn’t respond. He was still in shock.

“Hello,” a hand waved right in front of his face, followed by a face with big blue eyes identical to his own.

“Gah,” Link said, scooting away a little ways, “Too close.”

“Sorry,” said Blue Link, “You weren’t responding, and I was getting concerned.”

Link waved it off. “It’s fine, it was just a little overwhelming.”

“What do you mean? You knew about Calamity Ganon obviously right?” the other Link inquired. Then he seemed to get excited. “Wait. Were you somehow preserved like I was or something, only for like way longer or something?”

“Something like that,” Link said.

Blue Link scooched closer, face lit up in attention.

Link sighed.

* * *

“Wait, so my Sheikah Slate _brought you forward in time_?!? Link was amazed by what his twin in the green tunic – and _awesome_ hat, he really needed to get one of his own sometime – was saying. Light spirits? Eternal twilight? _A whole other world?_

But Link was most excited of all about one thing in particular.

“And you’re a Hero like me! Or, I guess _I’m_ a Hero like you, since you came first,” he said, awkwardly smiling. “Any pointers? Tips and tricks?”

The Link in green looked a little embarrassed by the questions. “Um, no, not really,” he said, awkward, “It’s kind of just something you learn as you go. And anyway, you’ve sort of done this before, so it might come back to you as you adventure.”

Link’s face fell at this statement. “But I _failed_ last time. _Really badly._ And now I have to make up for it, and the world’s only _been suffering for it for the past hundred years_.” He ended this last statement in a mumble.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up into the other Link’s face.

“And you will. You’ll definitely kick Ganon’s ass and you’ll help make the world around you better as you go,” Green Link told him confidently, “Because when we fail, we learn from our mistakes and come out stronger from them. And I can tell that you’re the kind of person that’s kind to others and loves helping just by talking to you. You’ll get it right this time.” He gave Link an encouraging smile.

“Thanks,” Link told him, giving Green Link a small smile of his own, “That makes me feel a little better.”

* * *

This was going on for far too long.

Midna watched the menagerie play out from Link’s shadow. At first, she agreed with Link, it _was_ suspicious that there was another person that looked like Link – who Link had obviously never met or even _seen_ before – and their name was Link to boot. Yeah, definitely suspicious.

But then the other one had started babbling on about tests and stuff, and had used some highly advanced magical technology that she had never seen before. The Twilight Realm didn’t have anything that looked like that, and from what she’d heard Link and Telma say about the Gerudo – Telma’s _and_ Ganondorf’s people – they were about just as advanced as the rest of Hyrule, so no magical space-warping tablets for the King of Thieves. Thankfully Link had finally seemed to catch on eventually, but _come on_. Sometimes her little wolf just jumped headfirst into things without thinking and then continued to not think. Ugh, sometimes it got to her.

At least they were talking it out now. And boy, was it interesting.

 _Over ten thousand years in the future,_ Midna thought she had felt a similar feeling to the one when they traveled back and forth through time in the Sacred Grove, but she hadn’t be sure at the time. Now, she definitely was.

But now that all of the explanations were over, Link was giving his clone a pep talk and joking around and sharing stories with him _when he should be having this guy use his tablet-thing send them back_. This wasn’t a field trip for Din’s sake! They had to get back so they could kick the Gerudo King’s ass and save Zelda! They were just wasting time sitting here!

Then she heard the Link in blue’s _great idea_.

“Hey, since I like traveling and you like traveling and we’re both Heroes, do you want to check out the version of Hyrule with me?” Blue Link paused. “And, maybe, fight monsters and do some shrines or a couple Divine Beasts with me? We’re pretty close to Zora’s Domain where one of them is supposed to be anyway.”

Her idiot actually looked like he was considering it. Damn adventure addict.

Oh, _hell no_.

She had to nip this in the bud right now.

_If you want to get things done, you have to do them yourself._


	3. In Which Midna Appears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! These chapters keep getting longer and longer, huh?
> 
> Here's Chapter 3 everyone! I think that my updates are going to be kind of a weekly thing, so like every Saturday or Sunday. Unless of course, I'm suddenly flooded with inspiration like last week, in which case I might update twice a week.
> 
> Thank you to everyone for giving this story the time of day, and to all of you who reviewed, bookmarked, and gave kudos to it! I'm very happy that people seem to like this story as much as I do, and am excited to keep telling it.
> 
> EDIT: Revised/Edited Sept 5, 2020

Link was just about to get a new partner on his quest – this other Link was going to say “Yes”, he had this look in his eyes – when something weird happened.

The Green Link’s shadow _moved_.

And it didn’t just stop there either; it then up and _rose from the ground_. And then the shadow to seemed melt or something, or at least it appeared to initially, but then it seemed more like color was simply bleeding into it instead. Link didn’t really know how to describe the phenomenon.

The shadow’s new appearance was that of an imp with feminine features. She was black and light grayish-blue with aquamarine markings running up and down her arms, legs, and ears. She also had flaming hair held in a ponytail and her visible right eye was ruby red, and curiously, it had yellow sclera. The other eye was covered by a strange helmet of sorts, with an odd pair of horns, and it almost looked as if it were made of stone.

And she was glaring at the other Link.

“Link,” she said sternly. He was confused? Was she talking about him? How did she know his name?

She seemed to be able to read his mind. “Not you,” she told him, barely giving him a passing glance, “Dog Boy over here.”

Green Link looked self-conscious, ducking his head.

“Did you forget so quickly? We have a mission of our own to complete,” she reminded him. Green Link looked a little guiltier. “I know that you’re a giant adventure addict and can’t resist poking around _every single place we visit_.” The last part was said in a slightly irritated (but fond?) tone. “But we have a job to do,” the little imp continued,” and Princess Zelda and Hyrule won’t wait for us to finish gallivanting around on our own little sojourn.”

The other Link didn’t do anything for a few seconds, but when he did, it was a slow nod. When he looked up again and Link could see his expression, he saw that his jaw was clenched and that his eyes were filled with determination. Link suddenly felt a little sad. He had a feeling that he wouldn’t have a companion on his coming adventure after all.

“Okay Midna,” Green Link told her, “You’re right. We have to get going.”

The little imp – Midna – shot Green Link a pleased grin, her visible eye slightly narrowed in fondness, and then turned her attention towards Link.

“You,” she demanded, “You are the one who brought us here, with your fancy technology. You must send us back to where we came from. Right now.”

Link looked down, frowning. He’d been really excited to be able to travel with someone! Especially someone that seemed to get, at least in part, what he was going through. He had been really nervous about what he was doing and had felt pressured by what had already happened in the past, but the other Link had helped. When he had spilled everything several minutes ago and felt ready to cry he was so stressed out, Green Link had known just what to say. And he had seemed to _understand_ what Link was getting at too, which was amazing in itself. And the other Link had also looked really excited at the prospect at a new adventure as well.

But then this Midna – wherever she had appeared from – had reminded the other Link of things that he had needed to do still; things that he had not yet gotten around to telling Link about apparently. Link had thought that Green Link’s adventure was over by way that he had been telling his stories, but evidently it wasn’t yet.

But if Green Link still had something important to do, shouldn’t Link help him do it at all costs? After all, Green Link had seemingly been willing to travel with Link on his mission and help him out. And from what Midna had said, Green Link’s Hyrule was still in danger – maybe from something as bad as Calamity Ganon! Link didn’t think he’d be able to live with himself if he left anywhere to whatever fate the other’s Hyrule was careening towards without Green Link's presence there to stop it.

And – even though he was still missing nearly all of his memory – Link knew that deep down that it was selfish to keep someone from where they had to go, even if he wanted them to stay with him. So he was going to help the other Link – and Midna too apparently, he still didn’t know what exactly she was – get back to their home.

He looked up at Midna. “Okay,” he told her, “Just let me pull the Rune up, and then I should be able to get you guys back.”

“Good boy,” she responded.

Link tapped the screen to the Sheikah Slate, to “wake” the screen. And it became immediately apparent that something was wrong with it.

Immediately after he tapped the screen, it flashed blue similar to how it always did when he woke it from its “slumber”; but the Sheikah symbol that always appeared with it looked weird. It was sort of blocky almost, and it didn’t manifest as quickly – or as smoothly – as it had done all the times before. The sound it always made when it woke up also sounded off – it was choppy almost, and didn’t seem to be in sync with what was going on with the screen.

It was different, and it was starting to make Link a little nervous.

When the map finally loaded, it didn’t look right either. He couldn’t see any of the places clearly or read the names – the screen was still too blocky. And there were strange spots of constantly changing discoloration – some of it in that strange light blue that was in all Sheikah technology – too! What was going on?

Link really hoped that the Sheikah Slate was alright. Purah would murder him if anything irreparable happened to it, and from what he knew of Zelda and her relationship with the Slate – she would too. Not to mention, Midna looked like she’d probably kill him if he couldn’t get her home either.

So, Link immediately tried to bring up the Rune page. It didn’t work the first time, so he had to tap and swipe the screen a few more times before something actually happened. And then, when something actually did happen, it wasn’t what he was hoping for. The screen did change, but it wasn’t loading properly. The Rune icons were taking forever to appear on the screen.

“Ready yet?” Midna asked him, impatiently.

Link looked up, mildly startled; he had been so engrossed with getting the Sheikah Slate to work that he had almost forgotten about Green Link and Midna. “Y-Yeah,” he said, “Just give me another minute, and I’ll be ready.”

She gave him a Look but didn’t say anything. When he glanced over at Green Link, all he did was give him an encouraging smile and a nod. Link turned back to his project.

The Rune screen had now mostly loaded, but it was acting odd in the same way that the map screen had. He scrolled through the Runes until he came to the one that he was looking for. 

That Rune looked worse off than the rest of the screens. It was even more blocky, and there were a lot more flashing discolored and light blue squares. He really hoped that everything was okay with the Slate.

He tapped That Rune.

Immediately, the screen started going haywire. The flashing increased, as well as the blocky-ness, and the Slate started making odd high-pitched noises.

 _Alert! Alert!_ the screen said in the clearest text that he’d seen since Green Link and Midna had shown up. _Processing error. Abnormalities in performance detected in the Sheikah Slate. The Sheikah Slate recommends you restart it in order to stabilize magiware. Would you like to restart the Sheikah Slate? This may take some time. Yes / No_

Link swallowed, uncomfortably. _Well, I guess I’ll ask Midna and the other Link what they want to do then._

“Hey, um,” he started. Instantly their eyes were on him. “Something’s up with the Sheikah Slate. It says that it needs to ‘restart’ or something, and that this will take a while. I don’t think I can do anything with it while it’s doing this, so I wouldn’t be able to send you back if I had it do this thing. But the Rune isn’t working now, so…” He gave them a small awkward smile. He didn’t really know what to do. And Midna was looking a little pissed off.

“What. Did. You. Say?!” Midna demanded, fang showing – _she had a fang_.

“Um, I don’t think I’ll be able to get the Sheikah Slate working for a bit. It needs to restart itself or something,” he told her again, slightly nervously.

The muscles in her face clenched, eye narrowing and fang showing more prominently, and weirdest of all – her ponytail started _floating in the air_.

Link scooted back a little.

Green Link cleared his throat. “Mids,” he said, “You need to… calm down a bit. You’re freaking him out a little.”

MIdna seemed to listen to him, because a few moments later, she closed her eyes and took some deep breaths. Her ponytail fell back into position and her scowl disappeared.

She turned back to Link. “Sorry,” she said awkwardly, “We just really need to get back, and this was _not_ what I wanted to hear.”

“I’m sorry,” Link apologized as well, “I didn’t mean to bring you guys here, and now I can’t get you home.” He felt shameful. “Sooo… What do you guys think we should do then?”

Green Link looked as confused as he did. “I don’t know a lot about technology,” he told Link, “What we have where I come from is bare-bones compared to that tablet.”

Midna, however, looked a little more thoughtful. “Let it do its restart thing,” she said begrudgingly, “Usually, when machines get ‘stuck’, they just need a quick reboot to set them back on kilter.” Both Links looked curious and impressed at her words. “What?” she asked, “We have more advanced technology in the Twilight. I know some stuff about machines, so what?!” Twilight? Was that where she was from? What a strange name for a place to live...

But Link could contemplate on that later. They had more important things to focus on, and he didn't want to upset anyone again.

“Okay then,” Link said. And then he tapped the _Yes_ option on the screen. Everything immediately went black.

And it stayed that way. For a long time.

When it got to the point when the sun was visibly higher in the sky, Midna _floated_ over to him.

“Let me see that thing,” she demanded. Link held it a little closer; she was a stranger and had already proven to have a bit of a temper _what if she broke it Purah and Zelda would kill him oh no he had ruined their precious Sheikah Slate_.

She sensed his obvious hesitation. “I’ll be careful,” she told him, “I promise. I know that technology can be delicate.” She held out her tiny hands.

Link reluctantly held it up to her; she took it and immediately began investigating it, running her hands and eyes all over the entire tablet. After not finding anything after a few minutes, she reluctantly handed it back to him, a disappointed look on her face.

“It appears to be solar powered,” she informed the Links, “It seems that as long as that blue jewel in the center is filled with energy, it will always remain on, as I couldn’t find a switch or button at all. Let me guess, when you first encountered it, the device was already on? And it has remained on since?”

Link nodded. “Yeah,” he said. Then he paused and back-peddled a little. “Well, I mean at first it was off, but when I took it from its pedestal, it instantly turned on.”

Midna looked contemplative, and then her eyes sparked as if she had an idea. “How far away is this pedestal? It seems like some sort of charging device or something.”

Link frowned. “It’s pretty far away – several miles.” Midna looked disappointed. “But,” he continued, “There are others like it around Hyrule. In fact, there is one where I was headed.” He pointed in the direction of the closest Sheikah tower – the one on the way to Zora’s Domain. It was only a couple miles away from the cliff-side that they were on.

Green Link and Midna looked a little shocked when they looked over to where his finger was pointing. _“How did I miss that?”_ he heard Green Link mutter.

“There is a pedestal at the top of all towers like that. It always adds something to the Sheikah Slate,” he informed the two, “and the Sheikah are super resourceful; so I bet that the towers might be able to fix the Slate, or at the very least wake it up.”

Green Link and Midna looked at each other and nodded. “Alright,” Midna said, “we’ll head that way then.”

* * *

_Heading that way_ , included climbing down the cliff-face.

“Hurry up!” Link heard Midna call up to him and Blue Link.

 _Says the one who_ flew _down from the top of the mini mountain_ , Link grumbled to himself. He shouted back to her, without looking down from his position on the cliff-face. “How about you give us a hand if you’re so impatient?” he suggested, “J know that you can carry my weight; you’ve pulled me into the twilight enough times, after all.”

He could feel the smirk forming on Midna’s face. “Oh?” she questioned, “Is the _big, strong, Hero_ getting tired? Does he need little Midna to save him from falling to his death?”

Link felt his face heat up. She _always_ had a come back ready for him whenever he complained. Her sass was second to none. “No,” he told her, “I was just trying to give you a solution to your obvious boredom is all.”

“Are you doing okay?” he heard from beside him. He saw Blue Link’s mildly concerned look from the corner of his eye.

“I’m fine,” Link told him, “I grew up climbing trees in the forests surrounding my home village.”

He felt more than saw Blue Link’s nod of acknowledgment. “Okay. Just making sure, since you asked Midna for help and everything.”

Link’s face got hot again. “I said that because Midna was complaining us being slow, not because I needed help,” he said again for the second time. _I literally just said that,_ he grumbled to himself.

“Oh,” said Blue Link, “I guess I didn’t hear that part.”

Link sighed deeply. It felt like it was going to be a long way down.

* * *

They were taking forever. _Ugh._ Were all light dwellers this slow?

Midna was lounging up against a rock, looking up at the two Links. _Getting to the tower isn’t going to take too long, it looks like, but I’m still tempted to nickname them both,_ she thought. Having two guys named Link was starting to get confusing, and, even if it was just for another hour or so, she didn’t think that she could keep referring to them as Green Link and Blue Link, or Her Link and Other Link inside her head anymore. They needed proper nicknames, and she was more than happy to give them out.

Midna’s train of thought flip-flopped between the nickname idea to the fact that the future of Hyrule honestly didn’t seem any more advanced than that in her and Green Link’s time. This happened a couple times before the two Heroes finally got to the bottom of the cliff where she was. She sighed in exasperation. _Finally._

“Good you guys got here. Let’s get going,” she said, and began to lead the way to the strange tower in the distance. They followed at a more sedate pace, chatting each other up.

They were stopped several times to their destination as well. Several lizalfos – at least she thought they were liizalfos, they were much different in the future – kept attacking them. And, just for the sake of getting to the tower faster – _that’s all it was, really_ – she helped kick the monsters' butts with her magic. There were also these weird creatures that Blue Link called octorocks that kept shooting rocks at them as well. _Annoying little shits,_ Midna grumbled.

Finally, the three came to a large rocky landmass, with the tower, well _towering_ , directly above them. There appeared to be a large monster camp of sorts about halfway up, however. _That won’t be a problem,_ she thought dismissively, _We’ve got_ two _Heroes and the Twilight Princess – who is a magical prodigy by the way – kicking ass together. These jerks don’t stand a chance._

And they didn’t. They group of monsters – bokoblins, lizalfos, and moblins (what were moblins?) – were all dispatched almost laughably quickly. Blue Link was sounding excited for some reason, saying that they had defeated some of the harder variations, whatever that meant.

Following the defeat – and the looting of treasure, wow these guys had some pretty decent stuff – they finished climbing (or in her case floating) up the rest of the landmass. Then, they ascended the tower.

 _This tower’s pretty interesting,_ she mused. _It appears to be made of the same material and magitech as Other Link’s tablet – ‘Sheikah Slate’, is that what he called it? I wonder what that orange and blue energy is, and if it’s similar to some of our magitech in the Twilight Realm. The colors are similar, too._

Her thoughts were cut short, as they finally reached the top of the interesting tower. Sure enough, there was a pedestal, right smack-dab in the middle of the tower top. Blue Link set the Sheikah Slate in the conveniently shaped indentation on top of the pedestal.

Immediately, the pedestal sprang into action. It’s top appeared to be made out of strange circular moving parts, and they spun around a bit, until the Slate flipped over. _“Sheikah Slate authenticated,”_ she heard a monotone, empty sounding voice say. The Slate gave odd blue and orange flashes.

“It’s saying something about needing to be ‘repaired’, and that this tower has the capability to do so,” said Other Link. He was looking at her.

“Well say ‘Yes’ or whatever,” she told him, “You don’t need to ask us for permission for everything.”

Other Link looked slightly hurt but did as she said. The Slate gave a bright orange flash, then went dark for a minute or so, before flashing back to life in a surge of light blue.

“It says that it has been successfully repaired,” Blue Link informed them. Then Midna heard, _“Sheikah Tower activated,”_ in the same monotone voice as before, and the tower erupted in the same light blue as the Sheikah Slate.

 _“Scanning area…”_ "said" the Slate. Suddenly, a strange rock floating above the pedestal lit up in strange light blue runes – a language perhaps? – that Midna had never seen before. They ran town the sides of the rock, before culminating in a large “teardrop” dangling from what looked like a glowing blue eye at the tip of the rock. Then, it dropped down onto the Sheikah Slate in a burst of color. _“Regional map extracted.”_

Then the pedestal did its spinny-thing again and flipped the Slate up for Blue Link to easily take.

“It says that we're somewhere called the Lanayru Province,” Blue Link informed them.

 _So, Lanayru’s still around, huh?_ Midna thought, before quickly collecting herself. Her and Green Link had a mission to get back to.

“Ah-hem,” she reminded him.

He started a little. “Oh, sorry,” he said, and immediately began to tap and swipe at the screen.

Midna felt relief course through her body. Finally! They were going back! Now, they could go back and save Princess Zelda – and the rest of Hyrule and the Twilight Realm at that – from Ganondorf. This little detour was finally over!

But then Blue Link gave them some bad news.

“Um, guys,” he said nervously, “The Sheikah Slate seems to be working fine, but I can’t get the Rune that I need to send you guys back to your home to work. It keeps saying ‘Error’ and stuff like that, over and over again.”

Midna clenched her fists and felt her fang slip out.

“That’s it,” she told Her Link and Other Link, “Since we’re clearly going to be hanging around each other for a while longer, I’m nicknaming the two of you.”


	4. In Which Nicknames are Distributed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! I managed to get it out on time! This chapter was a little hard to get started, mostly because of BotW!Link's nickname. I didn't want to use Twilight or Wild for either of the Links' nicknames because I didn't really think it made sense in the context of the story. Also, Midna would be far more likely to call TP!Link what she does in this story rather than Twilight anyway, since she already does so in Twilight Princess. Anyway, I had so much trouble coming up for one for BotW!Link, and I still don't think I'm satisfied with the one I ended up going with. Let me know what you guys think, and if you guys have any better ideas, I might change it.
> 
> Also, I know this chapter is a little shorter - more about the size of Chapter 2 - but where I ended it just seemed like such a good place to leave off. On the plus side, Sidon shows up in this chapter!
> 
> Thank you all for giving this story the time of day, and to all of you who reviewed, bookmarked, or gave kudos. I really appreciate everyone who's reading, and I hope you continue to like this story!
> 
> EDIT: Sooo... I wasn't really satisfied with some of this chapter. Mostly, though, with BotW!Link's nickname. Day is just... horrible, and we shall not speak of it anymore. So, I caved in and decided to change it to Wild and create the situation that will make it work. TP!Link's nickname is still Wolf though, because I couldn't resist, and because I can't see a situation where Midna would nickname him Twilight - seeing as she's from a place called the Twilight Realm that has other people living there too. That also means that TP!Link isn't really unique in this aspect as much as he is in Linked Universe stories. So, Wolf it is.
> 
> There was also some dialogue and descriptions that I also wasn't too happy with either, so I changed those too. It should also be noted that this chapter has had several more edits than the previous three, the ones in the other three chapters aren't even noticeable actually.
> 
> EDIT: Revised/Edited Sept 5, 2020

Link groaned. _Of course, she is,_ he thought. _I really shouldn’t have expected anything else from her. Midna’s been calling me whatever she wanted since we first met, after all…_

“Let’s see,” Midna had a shit-eating grin on her face, and was scratching her chin with one of her fingers. She turned her gaze to Link. “You’re easy, so I’ll start with you.” Her smile widened. “How about… Wolf.” Midna’s eyes crinkled in laughter and the newly christened Wolf rolled his eyes. “Yes,” she continued, “I like that one.”

Midna turned to Blue Link. “Now you,” she said, “Hmm. I don’t really know anything about you except that you look like Link – sorry Wolf, and that you have the same name.” She crossed her arms and threw her head back. Her face suddenly lit up; she must have had an idea. “Ooh. I have a good one!”

 _Uh oh,_ Wolf thought. _Poor Blue. Midna's "good ideas" are never fun._

“How about…” she paused for dramatic effect, “…Number Two!”

Wolf facepalmed. _Ugh, Midna seriously? It’s things like these that make me forget that you’re a princess, for Goddesses sake!_ Seriously, if the freaking Sages hadn’t told him to his face that Midna was the Princess of Twilight, he wasn’t sure if he would have ever believed it coming from her. She was just so obnoxious and sarcastic sometimes!

Blue Link – Wolf was not calling the poor guy Number Two of all things – looked really happy upon receiving his new nickname, though. Wolf sighed. He couldn’t let this go on for another second, lest Blue Link get attached (somehow) to the name.

“No,” he said, giving Midna a Look. “You are not calling him Number Two.”

“What’s wrong with Number Two?” Blue Link asked, genuinely curious. “It sounds like I’m your partner or something, and I like the sound of that.”

Midna gave Wolf the side-eye, still smirking. “See Wolf Link? He likes it.”

“No,” Wolf said again. He turned to Midna and lowered his voice a little, so the other Link couldn't hear. “ _That's mean._ I know you like to tease and make fun of others, but please, don't call him _that_. Come up with something else.”

Midna pouted, but nodded her head grudgingly. She cocked her head while scratching her chin again, lost in thought.

He heard Blue Link shuffle over to him. “What’s so bad about that nickname?” he asked Wolf.

“I’ll tell you later,” Wolf mumbled back. He'd have to figure out a way to get Blue Link to forget about it.

“I got it!” Wolf heard Midna say. He turned his attention back to her.

“Blue Link’s new name should be… Wild,” she said. 

Wolf thought about it. _I guess that there’s nothing wrong with it, even if it sounds kind of weird,_ he thought. _But…_ “Why Wild?” he asked her, “It’s not bad or anything, I’m just curious as how you came up with it. I mean, none of us - including _him_ \- know much about him”

Midna smiled with her fang poking out. “That's exactly how!” she exclaimed to both of them, clearly impressed with herself, “At first, I tried to come up with something regarding his sunshine personality, but they were just _so_ bland or terrible.” She crossed her legs over one another and lounged in midair. "So then I had this random thought 'He's a bit of a wildcard isn't he?' and then I was like _BOOM!_ idea! Let's call him _Wild_!" 

“I like it!” Wolf heard from his right. He switched his attention to Blue Link – the newly named Wild. He was beaming. “It makes me sound awesome and unpredictable, and it sounds as cool as Wolf to boot!" He turned to the aformentioned shapeshifter. "Don't forget to tell me what was wrong with the other name later, though Wolf.”

Midna smiled at him – Wolf couldn’t tell if it was a sarcastic one or not. “I’m glad that little Midna could be of such help then.” Wild gave a her a huge smile to her in return.

“Now,” Midna said, getting back to business, “What’s next? You have the map, Wild.”

“Um,” Wild's smile faded a little, to reveal the uncertainty that he suddenly looked to be feeling at Midna’s question. “I’m not… really sure.”

“Uh, hi,” Wolf heard a confident, but also awkward sounding, voice say from behind them. The three whipped around to see a weird fish person – was that what Zoras looked like now? – stepping uncomfortably from foot to foot. “Maybe I can help with that?”

* * *

Wild didn’t know what he was looking at.

“What are you?” he asked the fish person excitedly.

“What?” he – Wild decided that the weird fish sounded like a he – asked him surprise. “You’ve never seen a Zora before? Excuse me, what?”

“He’s lived a sheltered life until now,” Wolf said, putting an arm around Wild's shoulders. The Zora looked between the two of them.

“Whoa!” he said. “Are you guys twins? You look very much alike.”

Wild glanced between Wolf and Midna, the latter of whom was looking a little uncomfortable for some reason. _Is it because of the Zora?_ he wondered. But why?

Midna gave him a nod and a wink, though - _Just go with it,_ she seemed to be saying. 

“Uh, yeah,” he said awkwardly.

“Cool!” the Zora said. Then he seemed to realize something else because he jerked a little. “WOW!” he said, very loudly and enthusiastically. “I cannot believe it! You two are Hylians as well, are you not?”

Wolf and Wild both nodded.

“Oh, this is simply perfect!” the Zora said, again very enthusiastically. He cleared his throat. “A-hem, excuse me! I am Gruve of the Zora!”

“I’m Wild,” Wild introduced himself. Then he gestured to his new companions. “And this guy here is Wolf, and the weird floating girl is Midna.” Midna scowled at him a little. _Whoops! I guess I shouldn’t have called her weird,_ he thought.

Gruve looked shocked upon noticing Midna. “WOW!” he said, just as enthusiastically as before, “I’ve never seen anyone who looked like you before!”

Midna looked visibly less uncomfortable. “I’m not from around here,” she told the Zora, “As in, not from Hyrule.”

Gruve looked amazed. “Oh my,” he said. Then something seemed to hit the Zora – metaphorically, of course. “Oh you’re floating! In midair! Perhaps… you can use magic, yes?”

Midna nodded. “Yeah.”

Gruve looked excited again. “WOW! Two Hylians and a sorceress! This must be my lucky day!” The smile on the Zora's face looked as if it would split his face open.

“Why?” Wild asked, extremely curious.

“Because His Royal Highness, Prince Sidon of Zora’s Domain is searching for a Hylian – any Hylian really – desperately.”

“Okay, but again, why?” asked Wolf, reiterating Wild's question.

“Because we need a Hylian’s help. Zora's Domain is is grave danger,” Gruve told them. “Oh, it’s probably best if he tells you the details himself. He’s down there, by that bridge.” The Zora then crouched down at the edge of the tower and started waving at something. “Prince Sidon! I found some!” Gruve shouted. “I FOUND _TWO_ HYLIANS!”

There was an awkward pause, and then Gruve stood up and turned back to the group.

“Hmm. Prince Sidon doesn’t seem to notice me from up here,” he mused. Wild saw Midna roll her eyes from the corner of his own. _“Of course, he doesn’t! Look how high up we are,”_ he thought he heard her say under her breath.

“Perhaps I should jump from here to the river below?” Gruve considered. Then he jerked and shook his head. “No! Nope! Can’t do it! Too high up!”

He turned to the trio. “Pardon me,” he said to them, “But I’m afraid that I cannot get to Prince Sidon at the present moment. Would you three mind going down to talk to him for me? And also letting him know that I’m alright?”

Wild exchanged a glance with Wolf. They both nodded. He thought he heard Midna mumble something else underneath her breath, but he couldn't understand what it was this time.

“Sure,” Wild told the Zora.

“Oh splendid, splendid!” Gruve exclaimed. “Now, please, hurry! I will continue to try to signal His Highness from up here.” And with that he turned away from them again, ending the conversation.

Wild, Wolf, and Midna turned to each other in a huddle.

“Ugh, this is going to take forever,” Midna complained.

“What is?” Wild asked.

“You two climbing down this stupid tower,” she told them, irritated.

“No, it’s not!” Wild said, smiling. He took out the Sheikah Slate and started tapping and swiping. “I couldn’t do this before, because the Slate was acting up – and to be honest, I was so excited to be hanging out with someone with so much in common with me that I kinda forgot I had it – but I have a super-fast way down!” He tapped the Slate a couple more times, and then, in a flash of blue light, the paraglider that the King had given to him materialized in front of them.

“Whoa,” he heard Wolf say under his breath.

“What’s that thing?” Midna asked.

“It’s called the paraglider,” Wild told them, excitedly, “It lets you glide down to pretty much anywhere from a higher altitude, and it’s much faster than climbing down stuff. Trust me, I’ve tried.” He thought about how he’d had to climb down the Great Plateau Tower over and over again before he’d gotten the contraption.

Wolf’s eyes brightend. “Awesome!” he exclaimed. Midna also looked pleased.

“We can only use it one at a time though,” he informed the two of them. Midna merely waved the comment off.

“That’s no problem,” she told Wild, “After you glide down there and show Wolfie how it’s done, I’ll just come back up here with it so he can use it.”

Wild nodded. “Okay!” he said, “That works.” And with that, he jumped off Lanayru Tower with the paraglider held high above his head.

* * *

“Woo-hoo!” Wolf yelled out for everyone to hear, as he glided down from the tower. _This is amazing!_ he thought.

After a few more seconds, though, he finally landed on the ground, and the adrenaline rush that came with _literally flying_ faded. He reluctantly handed the paraglider back to Wild, who had already been waiting on ground level for several minutes now.

“That was awesome!” he gushed to the future Hero. Wild smiled brightly back at him in response.

“I know, right?” he said, gushing as well.

“All right,” Midna said suddenly from behind him, causing both young men to jump. _When did she get there?_ “So, where's this Sidon guy?”

Right, they still had something to do here. Trust Midna - the most goal-oriented person Wolf had ever met - to get everyone back on track.

“Didn’t that Groovy guy say that he was by a bridge or something?” Wolf asked. That was the Zora's name right, Groovy? He'd kind of forgotten in the excitement of flying and all that.

“Oh, yeah!” Wild said. “Let’s look for that!”

And it didn’t take any time at all to find really. After just spending a couple of minutes traversing over the area were they able to see it. Tall silver spires and posts, as well as glowing blue stones, were now visible through the thick fog. Wolf could tell simply from its shape that, though far more ornate looking than he had seen such a piece of construction appear, it was very clearly a bridge.

The group began to climb down the rocks now in front of them and head towards it.

When they arrived at the foot of the bridge, though, they didn’t see anything. _Perhaps the prince is underwater, or has moved on?_ Wolf wondered.

Suddenly, he heard someone calling out to them.

“Say, hey there!”

Wolf and the others looked around. He didn’t see anything, however, and by the looks on his companions’ faces, they couldn't find where the voice was coming from either.

The voice called out again.

“Young ones! Up top! Above you!”

Wolf looked up to the top of one of the ornate posts in front of the trio, and noticed something red near the top on a sort of terrace like platform. Suddenly, the red form dove down from the post, and landed in a graceful somersault.

“Pardon the entrance, but you two are Hylians, aren’t you?” the large red Zora – presumably Prince Sidon - asked them, excitedly. “I was hoping that you perhaps had a moment to talk…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to everyone who gave this story the time of day! I feel so much better after looking over these first few chapters, and with the edits I did to this one especially.
> 
> The next chapter may be a little late, as I haven't even started on it, and I'm working on other things, as well as being pretty busy at the moment. Hopefully, I'll be able to get it out by late tomorrow evening as usual though! If not, expect it early this week.


	5. In Which Wolf Shoves a Moblin Off a Bridge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *gasp* Ohmygosh! It's the elusive Chapter 5!
> 
> Yeah, sorry it's late. I don't really have a good excuse, except for the fact that the words aren't coming nearly as easily as the first couple chapters. I will not give up though!!
> 
> I think I'm going to start updating every 10 or 11 days, though, instead of every week. I have an awkward work schedule that changes from week to week, so I think it will be easier and less stressful for me to not update on the same day every week. So every week and a half I guess. Maybe I'll update on Wednesdays and Sundays?
> 
> And wow! What a milestone! We've surpassed 10,000 words everybody! I can't believe it!
> 
> Also, who else is excited for Age of Calamity? Because I sure am! I haven't been this pumped up in months!
> 
> Anyway, here's the new chapter. I hope you guys enjoy!

“Sure,” Wolf said. “Why not?”

“Wonderful!” presumably-Prince Sidon said, enthusiastically. Then he appeared to collect himself somewhat. “Oh! Pardon me,” he continued, “I am Sidon! The Zora Prince!” Sidon’s voice seemed to get louder the more he spoke. And did one of his teeth just _sparkle_? What the hell!

 _What a big lug,_ thought Midna.

“And what are your names?” the prince inquired.

“Wolf,” said Wolf simply.

“Um, I’m Wild,” Wild said, slightly awkward at being put on the spot.

Sidon turned to her. Oh yeah, she was floating out and about, for anyone to see. _I should’ve hidden in Wolfie’s shadow when I had the chance,_ Midna grumbled to herself.

“And you?” he questioned politely, with a wide sharp-toothed smile. He was also looking at her curiously, with big, calculating yellow eyes.

“Midna,” she replied, looking at her nails. _Not so much a lug after all, huh?_

The prince looked like he was about to explode withhappiness. “What fantastic names you all have!” he exclaimed, boisterously. He then paused and put his hand under his chin in thought. “Though,something about one of them is familiar, though I cannot put my finger on it…”

“I’ll have to ponder that later,” he said. Then, Sidon abruptly changed the conversation. “I have a confession to make to you all. I have been watching you.” Midna tensed up slightly. “I’ve seen the way the three of you work! You two young Hylian gentlemen – I can tell the way that you carry yourselves, and from some of what you did to get this far, that you must be extraordinary!” He turned to face Midna. “And you! You are remarkable as well! I do not know what sort of race you are, but you appear to have useful magical capabilities! How you fly through the air without wings… Amazing!

“But enough of that,” Sidon continued his spiel, “You are all strong amongst your kind, correct?”

Midna saw the Links nodding out of the corner of her eye. “Yeah, I guess…” she shrugged.

The prince’s reply was far more emotional. “Aha!” he said, very loudly – again, Midna had a feeling that that was going to be a thing with this guy. “Just as I suspected! I am a Zora Prince after all! I have an eye for talent!”

Sidon appeared to calm somewhat, as the conversation turned more serious. “I have been searching for someone like you for a long time,” he said, somewhat less enthusiastic than before, “Right now, Zora’s Domain is in grave danger because of the massive rainfall coming from Divine Beast Vah Ruta. Please lend us your strength, brave warriors! Please say you will come to Zora’s Domain with me!” Sidon crouched down in front of the group, with a serious and imploring look in his slitted eyes.

Her wolf already had a _Yes_ on the tip of his tongue, she could tell. _Damn yes-man,_ she thought. _Really though, that’s what I get for getting lucky enough to have a companion from that stupid village. Those idiots couldn’t function without him!_

“Of course, we will!” Wolfie said very eagerly – and predictably. Wild nodded his head vigorously in agreement.

The Zora Prince stood straight at this. “Wow! Really?” he exclaimed. He clenched his fists in glee. “Thank you, so much! You are indeed the men I thought you were.” His tooth sparkled again. “Now Zora’s Domain will certainly be able to be saved! We must head over immediately! There is no time to waste!”

The prince turned and gestured to the cliffs surrounding the group. “Because of all the rainfall, you won’t be able to climb any of the cliffsides. The only way to the domain is along this path,” he began. “As Hylians, I know that you cannot swim up the river. But be warned, the land path may be treacherous.

“You might have a tough fight in store, as well. There are monsters up ahead, many of which attack with electricity.” Sidon held his fist up with the thumb sticking up. “Don’t give up!” he thundered, “I believe in you guys!” His tooth gleamed again.

The prince’s composure seemed to return, yet again. _Is he bipolar or something?_ Midna wondered. “Ah, yes. I almost forgot; there was something that I wanted to give you,” Sidon rummaged around his belt. “This is just a small trinket just to show how much I believe in you guys.”

He pulled out a bottle with some bright yellow liquid in it. _Is that pee?_ Midna almost said aloud. _Please tell me that he's not actually giving us urine as a sign of appreciation. I thought the Zora had more class than that!_! What was next – little piles of shit?!

“This is what is known as an electro elixir,” Sidon informed them, “It will increase your resistance to electricity!”

 _Oh, thank the goddesses,_ Midna thought, relieved. Sidon wasn’t done talking though.

“I apologize that there’s only one,” the prince said, regretfully, “But I wasn't really expecting to find more than one Hylian. The effects of elixirs are rather potent, however, so I believe that you will be able to split the bottle and the electric protection should still work fine.”

“Okay,” said Wild.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” said her wolf. “It’s enough that you’re giving us anything at all to aid us. _That’s more than most people have done so far_.” The last part was said in a very low mumble. Midna elbowed him. Luckily, it didn’t appear that Sidon had heard.

“Oh, thank you!” the over-enthusiastic prince bellowed. Then he crouched down slightly again. “I shall go on ahead and make sure there is anything strange where you are going,” Sidon told them. “I’m counting on you!”

And with that, the Zora Prince did a graceful backflip into the river behind them and disappeared into the water.

“Wow,” said Wild. “That guy was kind of weird.

 _Yeah,_ Midna thought. _But at least he had backbone. Which is more than I can say about the last Zora Prince that we met…_

* * *

Sidon was right. The path to Zora’s Domain was indeed dangerous. Slippery rocks, electric monsters, and electric projectile weapons. What a trip.

It was even worse than the Lakebed Temple in Wolf’s opinion; at least that place was made of _stone_. There was mud everywhere here, and they’d had to go through a couple dank cave-like spots filled with electric keese. Not fun.

Unlike Wolf, Wild didn’t seem to be irritated at all – that guy was practically dancing up the trail. _It’s because he has a hood, lucky bastard,_ thought Wolf, jealously. When Wolf had asked him why he liked the rain so much – because honestly, what was there to like about it? – he’d said something along the lines of it being “familiar” and that “it reminded him of something, long ago.”

Wolf had almost forgotten that Wild had lost his memory. Like Ilia had. Wolf immediately felt guilty. _I’m going to help him with that,_ he promised to himself.

When it came to the entire path, the whole thing was awful; it was raining nonstop everywhere. When it came to parts of the path that had monsters though, the worst had probably been that lizalfos camp. They were just normal lizalfos from what Wolf could tell – though far stronger than the ones he was used to – but they were shooting electrified arrows at them. Midna had swapped out his Hylian shield for the old wooden one that he’d gotten from Ordon forever ago, and not a moment too soon at that. Sure, he’d felt a little tingle when the arrows bounced off of it, but it was nothing compared to what he probably would’ve felt had he been holding something conductive.

It didn't help that Wild kept trying to nick some of the "cool" arrows. Wolf couldn't even count on his two hands how many times the other had almost been shot.

 _"But they might be useful!"_ Wild had complained after the fact, clutching the few that he had managed to nab.

 _Honestly,_ Wolf had thought. _And Midna calls_ me _reckless..._

And then they had run into that thing that Wild had called a wizzrobe – no scratch that, _that_ had been the worst. It had some sort of rod similar to the one that Wild had been using when they'd first met earlier that day, though instead of fire, it shot electricity at them. It had probably been a marginally easier to fight with the two of them, though, as it seemed like the creature could really go after one person at a time. So, they played the bait game where one of them would distract in, and the other would take it down from behind. It went down pretty easily after they decided to do that, but Holy Farore was it annoying!

 _Maybe, the elixir would have saved me, though?_ he wondered, but even then he was still wary. He was unsure of the potion to begin with, as he’d never heard of potions that could do that in the first place – but he guessed things changed in ten-thousand years – and he and Wild had had to split it as well, likely reducing the effects.

He didn’t trust that he wouldn’t die be electrocution if he wasn’t careful, so when had Midna suggested changing shields, he was all for it.

Wolf was just happy not to be in his wolf form at the moment. He had no doubt that he would have felt heavy, and he would have been absolutely covered in mud. Being closer to the ground with four short legs instead of two long ones did not lend itself well to sticky things on the ground.

He remembered that horrible night when Midna was dying ( _Don’t think about it, don’t think about it, she’s fine now, and you_ will _go back and save Princess Zelda_ ). He hadn’t had a chance to pay attention to it then, but the morning after when he was tired and nursing a bad nip from a kargarok, he remembered how his legs and abdomen had been absolutely _caked_ in dried mud.

At least Sidon pupped up every once in a while to update them on their progress and to offer them words of encouragement. It made him feel a little bit better about the situation.

Wolf noticed that the sun had actually set during their hike. Wow, it had gotten late, and he didn’t even know how much progress they had made.

As if reading his thoughts, Midna decided at that moment to make a comment.

“Hey,” came her voice from behind the two Heroes. She had shifted into her shadow form a minute or so after Sidon had left. Wild had been shocked (“Wow!” he exclaimed, in wonder). “The slower you guys are, the more flooded Zora’s Domain will get, and who knows what will happen. You don’t want that to come about, do you?”

“Shut it,” Wolf said to the Deku Nut gallery, “You’re not the one who has to slog through this stuff, little Miss I-Can-Fly-as-Well-as-Turn-Into-an-Invincible-Shadow.”

“Well, that’s too bad.” She never missed a beat, did she? “I was considering helping you; but then you just _had_ to complain about the situation.” She gave a dramatic sigh.

“What could you have possibly done?” Wolf asked, not really all that irritated honestly. He liked arguing with Midna.

“I could have brought out one of our blankets from storage, or used my magic as a shield,” she said, continuing to float along behind them at a steady pace while examining her nails.

“Imp,” Wolf said, knowing that it irritated her.

“Bitch,” she said in response, knowing that it irritated him.

 _I am a male wolf. A_ male, Wolf thought, frustrated, not for the first time.

“Um, guys? Is everything okay?” Wild asked from his place on Wolf’s left side. Wolf turned to look at him; he saw a pair of concerned blue eyes under the other Hero’s hood. _Lucky bastard! I am not jealous. I am not jealous…_

“It’s all good,” Wolf said, waving off the question, “She’s always like this.” He could feel Midna’s mock-glare on the back of his neck. “We do this all the time.”

 _“So this is how close friends interact,”_ he heard Wild say, quietly. Wolf rolled his eyes. _Maybe_ some _friends,_ he mused.

Not that Midna _wasn’t_ his friend. After all the shit they’d gone through together – what with the twilight, dark relics, and saving each other, over and over again – they couldn’t be anything but. Even after all the things that Midna had kept from him, he understood her now.

 _“I’m sorry,” she said to him under the eternal dusk sky of the Twilight Realm – a realm that she was the_ princess _of, by the way._ Thanks for telling me, Midna, _Link thought, upset that she had kept something this important from him for so long._ I thought we were friends... __

__

__

_But then he looked at her – his strong, sassy little imp companion, who had been by his side through think and thin, fighting evil, who smiled in the face of adverity, and to be honest, he had been starting to -_

__Stop, _he told himself._ Now is not the time, for _that._

 _She didn’t look so strong now. She looked scared and vulnerable. At first, Link couldn’t understand why –_ she _had been the one keeping secrets from_ him _, after all. He should be the one with that look on his face; like he couldn’t trust what would come out of his friend’s mouth._

__

__

_And then he realized it. Why Midna looked so concerned about what Link had to say._

__She’s afraid I’ll see her differently, _he thought._ She’s afraid that I’m going to think that she’s a coward for what she did, that she’s not fit to rule, or that he’d look down upon her cursed imp form. __

__

__

_Link ate the biting words that he had been about to throw at her in his anger. Right now, Midna needed someone that she could count on – someone that she could trust._

_Because his Midna was strong and sassy. His Midna didn’t take no for an answer. And his Midna didn’t take shit from anyone._

_And the look on Midna’s face right now_ wasn’t _his Midna._

__

__

_He took a few steps so that he was in front of her and put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with sad eyes._

_“I’m sorry,” she said again. Link snorted and gave her upper arm a light punch. Midna’s visible eye widened. She looked confused._

_“Don’t worry about it,” Link told her. “Everyone has secrets. And, okay, yours was pretty big, but I get now why you did it.” He took a breath and looked her straight in the eye. “When we first met, why_ would _you tell me? I was an unknown, a wildcard, and you had just been betrayed by someone you had known for a very long time, and should’ve been able to trust._

__

__

_“And then, later on, after we had begun to trust each other and started to become friends, you didn’t tell me because of that. You didn’t want to upset the new trust that had formed between us. You didn’t want to ruin this new friendship that was developing.” He paused. “You didn’t want me to think less of you for keeping a secret, or for what you did or who you were, if you ever told me the truth.”_

_Midna almost looked like she was going to cry –_ No don’t do that, this was supposed to be doing the opposite, you can’t cry you’re Midna for Nayru’s sake! _– Link quickly got ahold of himself and continued._

__

__

_“And I’m not ashamed of you,” he assured her, “I’m so happy that you’re my friend, and I don’t regret any of the time that we spent together, even those first few months when we were horrible to each other.” He gave Midna a sharp grin. “Now, where’s that attitude that I love? I’m not sure if Zant’s gonna take you seriously with that look on your face.”_

_Midna glared at him. “Shut up, dog-boy,” she said, while punching him in the arm, but now, she was smiling._

_She spun around. “Now,” she said, surveying the strange-looking place that the Mirror had taken them too. “Let’s go see what Zant has done to my palace.”_

Wolf was jolted out of the memory at a cry from Wild: “Look out!”

Wolf quickly whipped around and sliced the two electric keese in half that were coming at him from behind. They quickly darkened and fell apart, parts of them disintegrating entirely.

He felt a smack from his side. He turned to find Midna glaring at him.

“You idiot!” she yelled at him. “What have I told you about staring off into dreamland! Pay attention for Goddesses sake!” She shook her head at him.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, rolling his eyes, and the group continued on their way.

Eventually, they came to a long bridge, the longest that they’d seen yet. It was styled like the other Zora-built bridges they’d seen so far, so they were still on the right track. They were nearly across it, when Wolf heard a voice from below.

It was Sidon again.

“Hey! Guys!” the Zora Prince waved at the trio from the river beneath.

“You’re still a ways away, my friends, but you cannot make it to the domain with this path without passing over this bridge, so I knew you’d be here,” Sidon continued. “Thus, I decided to meet you here, and have been waiting for you.

“You’ll be at Zora’s Domain before you know it though!” he exclaimed. “In fact, I’ve decided to head there as well, so I will see the three of you there!”

Suddenly, Sidon startled a bit.

“Whoa! Guys!” he shouted, urgently. “Beware! A monster is approaching from behind you!”

Wolf quickly whipped around. It was a large, black moblin with a huge club. He took a ready stance and drew his sword and shield, and he saw Wild do the same out of the corner of his eye.

Wild looked a bit nervous at the sight of an unfamiliar strong enemy, but Wolf shook his head, grinning. “Three against one – if Midna decides to help out, which I doubt,” he told him, confidently, eyeing Midna all the while with a Look. “Either way, the odds are in our favor. We’ll wipe the floor with this guy!”

And with that Wolf and Wild leapt into action. It was almost a game of tag with this guy, only instead of evading their opponent by running far away, they ducked and rolled to avoid his large weapon.

But Wild was starting to look fatigued, most likely as a result of their long journey in the rain. It had taken the rest of the day and into the night. Wolf was also feeling pretty tired too, if he was honest with himself.

They had to end this quickly, before mistakes were made out of tiredness. The Wolf noticed something.

The sides of the bridge were quite short. Not compared to Wolf or any other Hylian of course, but to the giant moblin?

Wolf had an idea.

“Hey, Wild!” he called over to the other Hero. “Keep that guy close to the edge okay? I’ve got a plan!”

And it didn’t take long at all. The moblin was very stupid and was baited and distracted easily by Wild. Soon, he was actually almost pressed against one of the sides.

That was when Wolf made his move.

_“The basics of sumo wrestlin’ are the same as stoppin’ chargin’ goats. Step forward and grab your opponent. Then, let a retreatin’ foe taste your open palm!”_

He rushed forward and gave the moblin a hard shove with his arm – it was even larger than a Goron after all, a slap probably wouldn't work too well – setting the creature off balance. He then shoved the moblin with all his strength, and the monster went tumbling off the side of the bridge, limbs flailing, too dumb and flustered to even think about catching itself in time.

“Wow,” Wild said as Wolf heard the distant cries of the moblin fade away. “That was pretty cool! Where’d you learn to do that?”

“The mayor of my home village,” Wolf responded. “He was a champion of sumo wrestling. He won against the Gorons once.” He paused, considering something. “I wonder if sumo wrestling is still a tradition among their tribe?”

“Sometimes I forget that you started out as just a farmboy,” Midna teased from behind him. He turned to see her wearing a mischievous grin and a twinkle in her eye. “You’re not too shabby a wrangler after all. Even when it’s with giant monsters.”

Wolf rubbed the back of his head and smiled awkwardly at the praise. “Thanks guys,” he said. “It was nothing.”

“Can you teach me how to do that sometime?” Wild inquired, eyes large and pleading. “I don’t know how to fight without a weapon. It looks like it could be useful if I’m ever disarmed or something.”

“Sure,” Wolf said. “Some other time though. We haven’t even gotten to Zora’s Domain yet.”

“And we never will if you idiots keep talking and staring off into dreamland,” Midna chimed in, crossing her arms. She gave him a Look.

“Okay, okay,” Wolf held his hands up in a placating gesture. “We’re going!”

And the three began the last stretch of their journey to Zora’s Domain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who is giving this story your time, and those who commented, gave kudos, and bookmarked.
> 
> Next time: The trio _finally_ arrives at Zora's Domain, and a part of Wild's past is revealed! Also, Midna arm-wrestles a Lynel! Stay tuned!


	6. In Which Wild Almost Has an Emotional Breakdown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... um... Hi, I'm back...?
> 
> Sorry I was gone so long.

_Finally._ After traveling most of the day and half the night, they had arrived at Zora’s Domain.

The group was standing on a long stone bridge – the longest yet out of the ones they’d crossed! – and Wild could kiss the smooth, sculpted ground that the trio now stood upon. But that might be considered rude – he still wasn’t completely sure of all of the normal societal conventions yet – and seeing as the Crown Prince of one of the most prominent races of Hyrule was standing just a few yards away, he wasn’t sure if it was the best idea at the moment.

So, he opted out.

Instead, he followed Wolf’s steady gait and attempted to mimic him. Wild wished that he had the more experienced Hero’s confidence sometimes.

But Wolf had assured him that it would come with time.

But how long will that take? I kind of need a confidence boost right now.

The current Hero was brought out of his musings by the (still) extremely enthusiastic Zora Prince.

“Whoa!” Sidon breathed as he finished his jog to the edge of the bridge to meet the travelers. “I’ve been waiting for you guys!” The prince gave the trio another thumbs-up and blinding smile.

“Welcome to Zora’s Domain! It is the pride of the Zora people!” Sidon continued, as enthusiastic as ever. “Now come! I must introduce you to the king!” And with that he was off once again. Wolf, Midna, and Wild quickly went to follow, as not to be left behind,

As they walked, Wild couldn’t help letting his jaw drop and staring open-mouthed at the majesty of the Zora people’s home. Beautiful, intricate, smooth stonework topped with stunning glowing stones made up the domain. He found it very reminiscent of the bridges that the three had crossed to get here.

Perhaps the Zora had constructed those, too.

As Sidon led them up the beautiful, curved staircases and floors, Wild also couldn’t help but notice that they were attracting some attention. Some of the Zoras that they passed looked on in awe and surprise. Guess they don’t get too many Hylians out here.

But there were an equal amount of Zoras that gave them dirty looks or outright glared at the newcomers. Wild even thought he saw one attempt to spit at them. _Gross._ He made a face of disgust at the action. _Also, I’m pretty sure_ that _was rude._

Did these Zoras just hate outsiders or something? But Sidon had gone looking for a skilled Hylian specifically. And he had happily greeted them all with that ridiculous grin of his. It couldn’t have been some kind of trick, could it?

After reaching the second “floor.” Sidon stopped at a large pearlescent sculpture of sorts. As Wild looked up at it he realized that it was a statue of a Zora woman holding a trident.

“This is my older sister, Lady Mipha,” Sidon said solemnly. “May she swim in peace with our ancestors.” He bowed his head briefly and the trio followed suit.

_She’s beautiful,_ came one thought.

_She’s familiar,_ came another.

_What?!_

Wild shook his head to clear it. He didn’t know what these crazy thoughts were about, and he probably didn’t have time for them right now. Sidon had already started to stride up another set of stairs – oh was that a Goddess statue? – and Wild quickly ran to catch up with his companions.

“Staring off into dreamland?” Wolf teased quietly, a small smile on his face. Wild also saw Midna smirking out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head away from the two with a huff.

“Shut up,” he grumbled.

Midna looked like she was about to say something – almost certainly snide – to that, but all further conversation was cut off as the group arrived at the top “floor” of the domain. Sidon led the three to the center of a raised platform in front of a very large Zora. This Zora was adorned in regal attire and was sat upon a large throne.

Though the Zora didn’t bear much of a resemblance to Sidon, there was no doubt in Wild’s mind that he was looking at the King of the Zoras.

“My father, King Dorephan,” Sidon introduced proudly. There was the sound of a throat clearing from off to the side. Sidon then gestured to a Zora that Wild hadn’t noticed before. “As well as Muzu, the Royal Attendant and Advisor.”

This Zora was also giving Wild a disdainful look, eyes narrowed in a glare, much like many of the older looking Zoras on the other “floors”. Wild found him to be a rather odd looking fellow, with a wide, floppy head that seemed slightly disproportionate to his body. How well does he swim, with a figure like that?

The longer Wild stared at Muzu, the more intense his glare seemed to get, so Wild turned his attention back to the Zora King.

Said king brought his arms out in a sweeping gesture of welcome. Or at least, it looked like it to Wild.

“Welcome,” rumbled King Dorephan. “Ah, you must be the Hylians and mage that Sidon brought here, correct?” His more neutral expression transformed into a broad grin. “You did well to come this far.”

The ruler of the Zoras leaned down to get a better look at their group. Wild glimpsed Wolf and Midna’s uncomfortable expressions. You’d think he was about to fall on them or something from the way they’re staring at him, Wild thought.

“Hm?” the deep, booming voice of King Dorephan pulled Wild’s attention back to the aforementioned Zora King. “That there, on your waist. Is that not a Sheikah Slate?”

Wild stared curiously at the king. _He knows what the Sheikah Slate is as well?_

The oversized Zora leaned in closer. _Maybe he will fall on us after all,_ Wild thought nervously.

“HMMM?!”

Wild stumbled back a step at the king’s loudness. But he was still looking up at the monarch and saw a glint of… something in his eye. What was it?

King Dorephan, finished with his examination of the newcomers, began to speak again. “Now that I have a better look at you, it is all to clear who you are…”

_Huh? This guy knows me? Or Wolf and Midna? They said they traveled forward in time right? Maybe he recognizes them from history texts or something…?_

“You are the Hylian Champion, Link!” the King exclaimed in Wild’s face. Very loudly.

“The Hylian Champion?” Wild turned his attention to Sidon, who was now speaking. “You cannot mean THAT Link? THAT Champion?” Sidon’s expression went from confused to excited in a heartbeat. “So that is where I have heard your name before! What a fateful coincidence that we should cross paths!”

King Dorephan began speaking once more. “I cannot believe it. The Hylian Champion, Link, has appeared before us… We have met numerous times, I’ll have you know!” The king’s eyes twinkled, as though lost in thought. “Ah, so many memories… My mind is overflowing with nostalgia, my friend.”

_I’m so confused,_ Wild thought. He felt a headache coming on.

“I had heard a terrible rumor that you had fallen in combat, but it appears you’ve managed to survive. Extraordinary!” King Dorephan clasped his hands together. “You must tell me all that has happened! And how you are here, today, looking so young!”

Uh, oh.

“Um,” Wild began, extremely uncomfortable at being put on the spot by, what was to him, a perfect stranger. He found himself no longer able to make eye contact, and stared down at his boots. “I don’t remember…?”

* * *

Midna was enjoying the show.

The dangling jaws and bug-eyes of the Zora royalty in front of her nearly made her laugh out loud. She put a small hand up to her lips to conceal her smile.

Of course, being royalty, the two quickly composed themselves. Then they began what could only be called an interrogation. Poor kid. He looked like one of those small, frightened animals, just before Wolf shot them with an arrow.

They had to eat, after all. And when they were on the road, completely out of food, and Midna was feeling lazy, what else could they do?

She was a _princess_ for Goddesses sake! She couldn’t do _all_ the work!

Midna quickly shook herself from her memories. She didn’t want to miss the show after all…

Now they were bemoaning the fact that Wild had amnesia and couldn’t remember them all. Or the king’s daughter, apparently; Sidon’s older sister. They talked about some sort of statue of her being near the entrance to the domain…?

Oh, _her._ Midna supposed that she was pretty enough, for a fish. They were discussing how the two had been such _close friends._

Oh, she bet they were. The way they were describing this girl, she sounded _just_ like Ilia.

Then King Dorephan called over one of the Zora guards to fetch something. He quickly returned with a beautiful bluish-silver jeweled box and handed it to the king. He opened it and handed the contents to Wild. It appeared to be some sort of Zora-made garment.

The ugly Zora, standing to her left, took one look at whatever it was and bolted for the hills, blubbering about how that garment was something special made by Lady Mipha herself for the one she would marry.

Knew it. _Just_ like Ilia.

Midna noticed she was clenching her fists and quickly settled. She was absoultely _not_ jealous. At all.

What was it with Heroes and their childhood friends anyway?

Sidon quickly ushered the group to follow the old fishbone. Apparently, he was the only one privy to knowledge that they needed. Midna groaned but quickly followed the group in a smooth glide.

Their destination ended up being the statue of the Zora princess. Apparently, the ugly one – Loser or whatever – had had an emotional breakdown and gone running here.

Wild was looking at the Zora princess’s statue intently. Suddenly, his body jerked and he gave a strangled gasp.

“Mipha…” he breathed. “I… remember her.”

Sidon got _very excited_ at this and was grinning hugely. Loser, meanwhile, was rebuffing Wild’s claim and demanding proof of some sort with that stupid nasally voice of his.

Midna groaned in annoyance. “Shut up,” she told the ugly Zora, sharply. Loser’s jaw dangled briefly before abruptly snapping up.

This gave Sidon an opportunity to calm the older Zora down.

Then the best thing ever happened.

Prince Sidon asked the wildcard to _strip._

Midna openly cackled at the shocked and uncomfortable look on the kid’s face. Loser gave her a Look. She gave him the finger.

Then she turned back to Wild and jerked a little bit. The Zora outfit fit him _perfectly._

“B-But that’s impossible…” the ugly Zora stuttered out. “Lady Mipha made that _by hand!_ And yet it fits you perfectly! What is the meaning of this?!”

“Now you understand, Muzu.” said Sidon to the ugly Zora. Huh, I guess his name was Muzu. Whatever. “Now you know who her heart belonged to, and who she made this special armor for. That fact that it fits Link perfectly should be proof enough.” The prince paused. “You have always disliked Hylians, even before the Great Calamity. That is why Mipha never told you.”

Then Sidon bent down so that he was almost at Muzu’s level and pleaded for the fishbone’s help. After several moments about going on about his “pride” – not that he had anything to be proud of, in Midna’s opinion – Muzu acquiesced.

The ugly Zora pointed off to something in the distance behind her. “That tall mountain over yonder… It is called Ploymus Mountain, and there you will also find Shatterback Point.” He gave a dramatic pause. “A deadly creature makes its home there. It shoots volley after volley of shock arrows. Even a single one could be fatal to a Zora.”

“Ah!” exclaimed Sidon. “You must be talking about the Lynel!” He turned to Midna and the Links. “That beast does indeed weild shock arrows. That would be one way to collect them quickly.” He winked at Wild. “He certainly is fierce. But I imagine that Link will not have any trouble.” He gave them all a thumbs up alongside a glittery grin. “Especially with well-equipped and talented companions such as these.”

_That’s right,_ Midna preened. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Wolf doing the same.

There was further discussion about how many shock arrows they’d need to take down the Divine Beast, as well as the best equipment for fighting a Lynel. Sidon was excitedly chattering away about all that and even about going off to kill it immediately. But Midna saw how the Links eyes’ were drooping, and how Wolf covered his mouth to stifle a yawn.

It was time for an intervention.

“Actually, Your Princelyness,” Midna interrupted. “We’re all bone tired from hiking up that slippery trail all day and fighting monsters.” She stretched her arms way up high and gave a yawn for emphasis. “I think it’s best we turn in for the night and go up and fight that man-beast tomorrow.”

Sidon quickly aborted his talk and made to agree with her. “Yes, of course, My Lady. I wasn’t thinking, I apologize. Allow me to show you to the domain’s inn personally.”

Midna met two grateful pairs of eyes with a sly smile.

* * *

_Her golden eyes sparkled, and she gave him a soft smile._

_“Perhaps we could spend some time together…?”_

“Hey Wildcard, everything okay over there?”

Wild was immediately thrown out of his thoughts by Midna’s question. He turned to the other waterbed that Wolf and Midna were _apparently going to share_ (and hadn’t that been a conversation) and locked eyes with the imp, who was staring at him. She almost looked concerned.

“Yeah,” he mumbled. “I’m fine.”

Midna gave a large sigh in response. “Ugh,” she said, “No you’re not.” She nudged Wolf. Hard. “You. Go over there and talk to the kid. You’re better at this mushy stuff than I am.”

Wolf slowly made his way over to Wild’s waterbed and sat down. He was dressed down in an off-white shirt and matching slacks, that Midna had brought out of nowhere after their baths. The Zora inn also had a room for bathing, that weary travelers could get clean in, and the inn’s patron – Kodah – upon taking a second look at the group after talking Wild’s ear off, had offered it to them, no extra charge. Apparently, they knew each other a hundred years ago, and she had been sweet on him.

And she still seemed to be. Despite the fact that _she was married with a daughter._

She’d even called him _Linny._ And then she had apologized _for getting in between him and Mipha._ Midna had gotten a kick out of that one. Wild’s face still felt hot.

“So, um…” he heard Wolf start. He turned his attention back to the more experienced Hero. “Do you want to talk about it.” Wolf looked a little awkward. Perhaps he wasn’t as good at the “mushy thing” as Midna claimed after all.

Wild too, felt uncomfortable, but he thought that he might feel better if he talked about it, so he opened his mouth to speak. “…Sure. I guess.”

Wolf looked at him, as if expecting more. Wild sighed.

“Okay, so um, I got a memory back at Mipha’s statue,” he began.

Wolf nodded solemnly. “Yeah. You said as much earlier. That can’t have been easy.”

“Yeah, it’s not,” Wild confirmed. He considered his feelings for a moment before continuing. “It’s like… these claims these people are making, I don’t know what they’re talking about, and then Bam! I see her and me sitting on this ancient looking structure, and she’s staring at me and talking to me, and healing me. And then I wake up from whatever vision I just had, and she’s _gone_ and I feel like _crying_ for some reason. And then that Kodah lady… it’s all just so overwhelming!”

Wolf rested a hand on his shoulder. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through,” he said quietly. Then he sighed. “Goddess damn it. I wish Ilia were here! She’s always been good at this stuff. Not to mention she’d actually get you…” He trailed off.

“Who’s Ilia?” Wild asked.

Wolf looked back at him. “She’s my best friend. She’s bossy, kind, and she doesn’t take anyone’s shit. Especially mine.” He paused, smiling. “We’ve known each other since we were really little. Even then, she was leading me around, telling me what to do when we played games.” He paused as if contemplating whether or not he wanted to continue on this tangent. “She – she lost her memory. Kind of like you.” He held up his hands with wide eyes at Wild’s alarmed expression. “She fine now though! She got her memory back, don’t worry!”

The other Hero paused. “But because of that, she would’ve understood what you’re going through. And even if she hadn’t, she still would’ve gotten you to chin up.” He gave a sardonic laugh at that. “She hated it when people moped around – she wouldn’t stand for it. Ever.”

Wild relaxed a little, giving Wolf a little smile. “She sounds really nice.” _Like Mipha,_ is what he left unsaid. Wolf was trying to make him feel better, _dammit!_

Wolf smiled back at him. “She is. She’s amazing!” Wild could swear he heard a snort coming from Wolf and Midna’s waterbed. Upon glancing over there, though, he found Midna staring at the two with a blank expression on her face. _What’s with her?_

When Wild turned his attention back to his fellow Hero, Wolf had a look in his eye like he had decided something. His face had hardened into resolve. “I vowed to help her get her memory back. And I did.” He looked at Wild with determined eyes. “And I vowed to help you get your memory back. So, I will.” He gripped Wild’s arm. “I don’t know how much this helped, since I can’t even begin to know what you’re going through, and telling you my experiences of the other side is just going to make you feel even more guilty, I’m sure, so I won’t. But I do know that I made you a promise to help you, and I intend to keep it.” He let his arm drop.

“Thank you,” Wild breathed.

“Hey,” they turned their heads to the other waterbed. Midna was twirling a lock of her bright-orange hair around her index finger, looking bored. And _helmetless._ Two tired red and yellow eyes glared at them from under the imp’s untamed hair. She’d apparently also taken her ponytail holder out. Wild couldn’t help his jaw dropping a little.

But she wasn’t done talking.

“Can we wrap up the lovey-dovey crap, please? It’s like, super late, and we have to kill a man-beast bright and early tomorrow.” She was giving the two of the a Look.

The other Hero looked at Wild. “Feeling a little better now?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Wild replied, “I’m good now. Let’s get some rest.”

“Good,” said Midna, not even giving Wolf a chance to respond. She patted the bed beside her. “Come Wolfy. I need your warmth if I’m going to get a decent night’s sleep.” Wolf grumbled something about being naked, but acquiesced nonetheless.

Wild stared at the two.

“What?” Midna snapped, as Wolf climbed around her and brought the blanket over the two of them. “I get cold easily and the dog has nightmares.” She gave a sly grin. “it’s not like we get up to… _anything._ ”

Wild blushed. He may not have been able to remember anything about his past, but he knew what “anything” meant. He hurriedly pulled the covers over his head. He heard a quiet “Ow! What was that for?” from Midna on the other bed.

_Wow,_ he thought drowsily. _I thought Wolf let Midna get away with anything._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, uh, I don't really have an excuse. I just had so much trouble getting this chapter out for some reason. And then it kind of had a mind of its own and started adding stuff that I hadn't originally planned but made the story flow better, and the Midna vs. Lynel scene didn't quite make it into this chapter. But it will be in the next chapter! I promise! I actually have some of an outline written out for this story now, as opposed to the whole thing just marinating and evolving in my brain, so now I have a much clearer path mapped out on what I want to do for the next few chapters. I'm going to keep the outline going ahead of my chapter writing, and that should help prevent something like this from happening again (I hope).
> 
> Anyway, I'm sorry again for the hiatus. I didn't intend for it to be _this_ long, but what are you going to do?
> 
> Next Chapter: Wild meets up with one of his old Zora friends from 100 years ago, and the trio face off against a Lynel! And yes, Midna will "arm" wrestle with it. :)


End file.
